Rights group slams military hitlist in Northern Mindanao, continuing detention of rights defenders

Karapatan deplores the release of what it calls a military hitlist, as yet another case of harassment against human rights defenders in Northern Mindanao.

At around 10:30am today, January 22, 2019, in the middle of the Hustisya-Northern Mindanao assembly and launching at the Philtown Hotel in Cagayan de Oro City, a suspected military agent approached the security guard of the said hotel and handed him two brown envelopes. Each envelope contained 13 copies of flyers listing organisations of youth and teachers, and tagging names of church workers, lawyers, rights advocates and that of a journalist, as “terrorist members of the New People’s Army and Communist Party of the Philippines.”

“Such notorious lists have further endangered the already perilous situation of human rights defenders. We have repeatedly raised how these arbitrary and baseless accusations incite threats to the lives and security of named individuals, the worst of which is that they become victims of extrajudicial killings. We call on the Commission on Human Rights and the local governments to protect the rights defenders and make accountable those who continue to put their lives at risk,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay, who was in the above-mentioned event in Cagayan de Oro City.

Karapatan, Sandugo and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas joined relatives of victims of human rights violations and other Mindanao-based rights activists in a National Solidarity Mission from February 21-22, 2019, to look into the situation of recently arrested activists such as Kalumbay leader Datu Jomorito Guaynon, KMP leader Ireneo Udarbe and the four members of the Misamis Oriental Farmers Association and that of evacuees from Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental. The said mission also engaged with CHR Region 10 and other government agencies to call for the release of the detained activists.

“Activists and everyone are being wrongly tagged as terrorists. The anti-terror law is being arbitrarily used against activists like Guaynon and Udarbe. This situation is made worse by the continuing implementation of martial law in Mindanao,” Palabay said.

“We affirm the urgent need for the lifting of martial law in Mindanao, as we lament that the Supreme Court has recently ruled again for its extension. We assert that martial law has worsened the already difficult situation of the Mindanaoans. Nevertheless, the people of Mindanao will continue to persist and resist,” she concluded.

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.